


From Mother, With Love

by Anestshia



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Ending, Angst, Cancer, F/M, Terminal Illnesses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-01
Updated: 2013-08-01
Packaged: 2017-12-22 03:30:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/908380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anestshia/pseuds/Anestshia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reiko is just turning 18 and is finally able to open the letter her mother wrote her six years earlier, the contents of which bring tears to her eyes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	From Mother, With Love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Natalanisha](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Natalanisha/gifts).



> So, this is a little story that I wrote when me and OfflineNatalanisha finally found a perfect combination of characters. Ohh, they just make such a cute little family~
> 
> Kiyomi and Evan are mine.  
> Reiko and Taz belong to Natalanisha  
> I do have permission to play with them all and to post this!
> 
> There is TWO endings to this story. The ORIGINAL ENDING is the CANON ending to this story. The ALTERNATE ENDING was written specifically for Natalanisha because the original ending made us really sad and we needed something happy *chuckles*
> 
> This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The Author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.

_Only to be opened on the occasion of your 18th birthday._

_Love, Mom_

Reiko had been waiting five years since she'd found the letter to open it. She'd tried, multiple times, to get her father to tell her what her mother had written her in the letter but he wouldn't tell her. He just got choked up and told her that her mother loved her very much and not to rush it. It had been eating at her and she'd debated, time and time again, opening it even though she wasn't supposed to. But she'd waited, she'd waited until midnight on her birthday and now she was was going to open it.

Her hands were shaking a little bit as she ripped open the envelope, placing the aged paper aside before she carefully unfolded the letter, smoothing the creases. Her mother had hand written the letter in beautiful calligraphy, it was to be expected. She had painted some of the most beautiful pictures she'd ever seen in her life, after all. She just took in the beauty of the letter for a few moments before starting to read, her eyes starting to tear up before she got past the first line from the memories it evoked. 

_Precious Reiko,_

_I am writing this letter ten years after the day I met you. You're twelve now and just the most beautiful child I've ever seen. Today, you met your grandparents for the first time, my biological parents. I must apologize for they are very good at ruining birthday parties. I know you're upset, I know you're wondering why I wasn't surprised with their behavior and you deserve an explanation. But you're too young now, I would never do that to you. I only want to see you happy and smiling, the sight of your tears made the memories of my own childhood return. I will not have you grow up like that. You're too young to know about that, yet._

_If you've been a good girl, you waited until your eighteenth birthday to read this, as I instructed on the front of the envelope. Now, I will explain. But first, I want to wish you a Happy Birthday! I'm sure your father will make it the most special day for you. We strive to make each and every one of your birthdays better than the last._

_Now, we come to the hard part of the letter. It's better to get past it quickly than to linger, is it not? I know you were confused today. You've always called Nurian and Sousui your grandparents. To have those strangers approach you must have been quite shocking. But, as I told you, they are my biological parents. I was adopted by Nurian, your grandfather, when I turned seventeen. It was the best birthday I ever had, the same day I met you._

_But, I will explain. Your grandparents, my parents, were always particularly vile people. I was born only because my mother was too long suffering to fix her mistake of a pregnancy. They never let me forget that for the first seventeen years of my life. I was a mistake and they were saints for sacrificing themselves to raise me. Birthdays were a day of guilt for me, my mother telling me how I ruined her body and my father telling me how I ruined his wallet._

_Their behavior at your birthday party was absolutely abominable. I have never asked them for anything for you. You are my daughter, my precious baby. It doesn't matter if you were born through me or not. You owe them nothing. I am sure they will show up once again on this, your eighteenth birthday, and I want you to stand up for yourself. I want you to tell them how precious you are._

_Reiko, I chose you. You've never been a burden to me, you've never been a mistake. From the day you came into my life, I was complete._

_I love you._

_I would die for you._

_You are my baby, no one will ever be more important to me. The only ones that could even approach you would be your father and, if god sees fit, your siblings. There is nothing more that I want to see than you happy, beaming on your eighteenth birthday. I don't want this letter to upset you. I want you to know that, no matter what those horrible people say, you are wanted, you are precious and you are loved._

_I love you, I love you so much more than you could ever know._

_Happy birthday, my darling daughter. I pray, to whoever will listen, that this birthday will be amazing and you will be happy your entire life through. Happy birthday, Reiko, even if I am not there to celebrate it with you._

_Love Always,_  
Your Mother  
Kiyomi ShaMyste 

Reiko was crying by the time she finished reading the letter, her body shaking as she held it close to her chest. She couldn't help it. She knew Kiyomi loved her but it was still so nice to read it. She'd never thought of anyone but her as her mother, no matter what happened. She'd known since she was a child old enough to understand that the woman hadn't been her biological mother and she'd never cared. She'd loved her all the same... and now she needed to see her.

**Original Ending**

**\---------------------------------------**

Reiko's hand was shaking, held by her fathers, as they walked over uneven ground. Fog obscured their feet as they made their way towards the cold, dark stone. Her right hand held the letter close to her chest, tears still marring her vision as she knelt in front of the gravestone that bore her mothers name. She let her fingers trail over the letters carved into the stone, tears starting to flow down her cheeks as she thought back on the letter her mother had left for her, a last declaration of love.

Kiyomi had been sick for nearly two years before she passed. She must have written the letter right after she found out. It had been nearly four years now but she still missed her, Kiyomi had been her mother, after all. “Did you know what she said?” She asked, her voice thick with emotion, her eyes sparkling with tears. “What she said in this letter?”

Taz shook his head, his hand shaking as he brushed his fingers through Reiko's hair. “She never let me see it... she hadn't even told me yet what the doctor had found when she wrote it.” He closed his eyes, gripping his daughters shoulder. “She just said she had to write you that letter... that you'd need it.” 

Reiko couldn't help her little sob, reaching up to cover her mouth. Kiyomi had found out, after trying for a decade to have a child, that she had Endometrial cancer, also known as uterine cancer, at just twenty seven years old. She hadn't understood until long after the woman had passed just what that meant. Her mother had put off treatment in the hopes she'd be able to have a child before having to have a hysterectomy. But it was too late by the time she finally gave in, the cancer had spread and it was just a matter of time... 

She reached up, brushing tears away from her eyes before speaking again. “I did... I miss her so much.” She whispered, looking down. “Can we stay here? For my birthday... can we just stay with her?” 

Taz couldn't help sniffling himself, tears marring his cheeks as he knelt down, pulling his little girl close. “Of course, I’m sure she would love that.” He said softly, kissing her temple and shaking a bit. “Happy birthday, Reiko.”

**Alternate Ending**

**\---------------------------------------**

Reiko's trip home from college was long and arduous but she was smiling as wide as possible as she pushed open the door too her childhood home. She smiled when her little brother ran for her, scooping the three year old up and holding him tight, wiggling happily. “Surprise!” She knew no one was expecting her but she'd had to come. Well, not no one. Apparently, her mother had been expecting she'd come home if the smell of cake wafting through the house was any indication. She sat her brother on a chair when she entered the kitchen, wrapping her arms tight around the woman who had made her birthday so very amazing. “Is that for me?”

Kiyomi chuckled, hugging her daughter back as she kissed her cheek. “No, I thought that your brother would enjoy a cake for no good reason.” She teased, ruffling Reiko's hair with a smile. “I am so happy to see you.” 

“Me too.” Reiko said softly, kissing Kiyomi's cheek and hugging her tight again. The letter had reminded her of what could have happened. When she turned twelve, she hadn't understood why her mother had gotten so sick, she'd just been scared. She'd only found out later that she'd been diagnosed with Endometrial cancer, also known as uterine cancer. She had been so sick for so long, they'd been scared they would lose her more than once. But after two, long years of fighting, she'd finally had the surgery that would remove the cancer, and that would take away her chance for a child. 

After a year of recovery, they had adopted her little brother, a premature child that the doctors swore would be mentally disabled. But her mother hadn't cared. The way the little boy had smiled and reached for her, well, she'd told Reiko it had been much like when they had first met. He was precious, even if he did take a little more time to teach. “I thought I'd spend today here, teach Evan some bad words.” 

Kiyomi glared at her but the way her lips curled showed it was entirely for show. “Don't you dare, his vocabulary is fine just the way it is.” 

Reiko couldn't help laughing, giving Kiyomi a big hug and kiss before scooping Evan up again. “We'll see!” She said, grinning when her mother threw a handful of flour at her for that statement as she ran out of the room. She was greeted the same way by her father and tiny, baby sister. She barely had time to sit down before she was being given presents and the cake was brought out to the loud, off tune singing of her entire family. It might not have been a huge party and there might not have been a lot of people there but her parents had definitely succeeded in their goal. It was the best birthday she'd ever had.


End file.
